Takeaways from LSU’s win over South Carolina
LSU stormed back from down 16 points in the second half to defeat South Carolina 64-63 on Saturday night, getting a key road win to improve to 5-7 in SEC play. Here are my immediate takeaways from the win and what it means for the Tigers moving forward into the final stretch of the season.
Main takeaway: This team just continues to play hard
Regardless of what the lineup is or who starts, the consistent effort from this team is a redeeming quality that has been consistent this year. Trae Hannibal set the tone in his return to his home state and former school, ending with 12 rebounds and awesome energy throughout the game. The bench is always engaged, the veteran presence of this team is on full display, even when they go down 15+, they continue to play and regroup.
It can be frustrating to watch this team for stretches, sure. They don’t have a ton of elite offensive talent, especially without Jalen Cook on the floor, but they adjust well, get timely stops, and push the pace well. The Tigers only turned the ball over 10 times and were much better about attacking the rim for the entire game. It was a well-coached game by McMahon and his players responded well once again.
Three more thoughts on LSU’s win
Matt McMahon LSU Basketball
1. One of the best rebounding performances of the year
The toughness of this team was on display with their rebounding effort today. The best rebounding performance of the season was against Texas A&M to start the conference season, but this was probably the second best outing, grabbing 12 offensive rebounds for 13 second chance points. In the second half. LSU had seven offensive boards to South Carolina’s two, which was a key difference in the game.
2. Sophomores stepped up
Tyrell Ward and Jalen Reed were the only two players who scored more than seven points in the second half, helping carry the Tigers in the comeback effort. Ward had 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting with three 3-pointers, while Reed had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting. The assertiveness of these two is massive for this program this year and in 2024-25. The talent is obvious from those two, but putting it together on both sides of the ball and maintaining this level of aggression is something that LSU will need down the stretch.
3. What’s next for LSU?
A massive question is the health of Jalen Cook moving forward. He’s dealing with a hamstring injury and without him there are going to be more offensive inconsistencies, but Cook’s struggles as of late have often done more harm than good. Eliminating those bad shots and turnovers helps the Tigers in comebacks like these.
Ultimately, they’re going to need Cook to have some sort of positive role in order to get to the eight or nine win mark in conference play, but this was a great showcase of why it’s Cook that needs LSU more so than it’s LSU that needs Cook. He has to buy in.
I said entering this tough stretch that Kentucky at home was the most winnable game and now with this win under their belt, a win over the Wildcats would put LSU at 6-7 with five winnable games remaining. This is a massive with for McMahon’s team and we’ll see if they can keep it going at the PMAC next week.
The post Takeaways from LSU’s win over South Carolina appeared first on On3.
